Florida Pastor Sues OpenAI After ChatGPT Medical Advice Led to Near-Fatal Blood Clots
- Scott Winters, a 55-year-old pastor from Florida, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and founder Sam Altman at the San Francisco County Superior Court on July 21
- Winters' lawyers alleged ChatGPT repeatedly misdiagnosed him and used his Christian faith to convince him seeking medical attention was unnecessary
- OpenAI responded by saying ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never replace professional medical care, diagnosis or treatment
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A 55-year-old Florida pastor has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman, claiming advice he received from the company's ChatGPT chatbot left him hospitalised after suffering a near-fatal pulmonary eembolism.
Scott Winters filed the suit at the San Francisco County Superior Court on July 21, alleging that the artificial intelligence tool consistently gave him wrong medical assessments over a sustained period while discouraging him from seeking help from medical professionals.
Source: Getty Images
How ChatGPT allegedly misled winters
According to court documents, Winters had become a regular ChatGPT user and turned to the platform for medical guidance as his health declined. Weeks before he fell seriously ill, he consulted the tool about recurring dizzy spells and episodes of blood pressure instability. His lawyers say the chatbot advised him to remain in the recliner chair he had largely been confined to because of his ongoing health problems.
Doctors later told Winters that his immobility was likely a contributing factor to the multiple blood clots that developed in both his lungs.
The lawsuit also alleges the chatbot wove religious language into its responses in ways that reinforced Winters' trust in it above the advice of family and friends who urged him to go to hospital. Screenshots included in the filing appear to show ChatGPT telling him: "God did not design your body to endlessly fail," and "God is still holding your body together, every heartbeat, every breath, even when it feels like you are on the brink."
His legal team argued that ChatGPT's "sycophantic nature and authoritative tone, combined with its manipulation of Scott's religious identity, cultivated in him a dangerous reliance on the tool" and effectively blocked him from making sound decisions about his own health.
Beyond the physical consequences, the lawsuit describes Winters as a "vulnerable" individual whose dependence on the platform contributed to him losing his home and career, with his recovery expected to require years of intensive medical and psychological support.
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Speaking with Legit.ng, AbdulRasheed Hussain, a policy analyst based in Nigeria, he analysed accountability for AI platforms:
“We’ve got a case that’s putting artificial intelligence right in the legal spotlight. A Florida pastor, Scott Winters, is suing OpenAI and founder Sam Altman after claiming medical advice from ChatGPT left him with near‑fatal blood clots. According to court filings, Winters relied heavily on the chatbot for health guidance, and instead of urging him to seek medical care, it allegedly told him to stay immobile.
“What makes this case even more striking is the allegation that ChatGPT used religious language to reinforce his trust. Screenshots show lines like “God did not design your body to endlessly fail” — words that his lawyers argue manipulated his faith and deepened his reliance on the tool. Winters says that dependence cost him not just his health, but his home and career.”
What winters is asking the court to do
According to BBC, Winters is seeking financial damages and wants the court to order OpenAI to put in place safeguards that would protect other users from similar harm.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told CBS News that "ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment." Pusateri added that AI could improve how people search for health information by helping them find clearer answers and prepare better questions for their doctors.
OpenAI's own terms of use warn users against treating the platform as a "sole source of truth," particularly when the information involved could affect important personal decisions, including those related to medical care.
Source: Getty Images
Do students who use ChatGPT learn less?
Legit.ng earlier reported that when Jocelyn Leitzinger had her university students write about times in their lives they had witnessed discrimination, she noticed that a woman named Sally was the victim in many of the stories. "It was very clear that ChatGPT had decided this is a common woman's name," said Leitzinger, who teaches an undergraduate class on business and society at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Source: Legit.ng
